$2.00 and $5.00 coins for collectors

They already are legal tender for one dollar. They can't circulate because everyone knows the bullion value is worth 10-20x that at any given time.

Are you saying create new ones and give them a $50 face value? We can't even get crappy one dollar coins to circulate. Do you think those would be left in circulation?

 

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It all depends on what the Treasury department does in relation to the AIG/Freddy/Fannie bailout. Either we're going to have huge taxes, or We'll have circulating $50 coins.

 

Right... I believe they should print some billion dollar bills for this mess.... around seven hundred of them and everyone is home free. Put pictures of CEO's and CFO's on them...

 

I would also like to see a $500.00 note. In a few months it probably won't be worth a $100.00 anyway.

 

They already do produce $5 coins for collectors...

Like this one for, example...

 

Two- and five-dollar coins would be beneficial to the coinage system, but commerce in general and banking in particular would not like handling the coins. America's coinage system in showing its age and is a throwback to the middle of the 19th century. There have been only a handful of major changes to the US system of coins. These are the most important, and there are others:

1857, when the use of foreign coins as legal tender were eliminated coupled with the elimination of the half cent and the reduction in the size of the cent

1873 and 1878, when the silver content of coins was adjusted and Morgan dollars began to be minted in large quantities to be stored for over 90 years, unless melted in 1918

1933, elimination of circulating gold coinage

1965 and 1971 elimination of all circulating silver coinage

1982 and 1986 re-introduction of commemorative coins and the use of precious metals as bullion issues

 

Neither the UK nor Europe (assuming the latter refers to the euro area) issues $ coins. Now whether $2 or $5 coins make sense as US collector pieces, I don't know. But when it comes to circulation coins, it is quite obvious that coin denominations above 0.25 do not really work in the US ...

Christian

 

Well, the 50¢ is quite large, and the $1 is in competition with the note, which is popular. Get rid of it, and you'll see circulation.

 

Sure would like to see you carry about $100 in those denominations. I know I have many times carried $500 in small bills. I would never try that with even the $5 coins.

 

The main problem with any new denominations of coins such as a $2 or $5 is no one would use them. If they stopped making paper currency there would be massive protest from the general public. As coin collectors most of us forget that the average individual is basically lazy and that is why they will not carry those baby dollars. No one wants to weigh themselves down with any additional weight. Almost all coinage will become a thing of the past soon enough. My Son already is one the future generations that carry only plastic. He carries absolutely no cash at all now. An attempt to make people carry additional coinage of larger denomiations would only increase the use of plastic and completely drop all currency and coins.
Ever see those adds about insurance where the guy says at the end of the day he takes all his change and puts it in a jar. That is the majority of people. No one likes to carry change of any kind anymore. All attempts to make other coins will fail as the baby dollars already have.

 

If Canada and about a dozen or so European countries that use euros can do it, why can't we? Whining about having to carry $500 worth of coins doesn't impress me - carry bigger bills or get stronger pockets.

The most sensible thing to do would be to go to the 1-2-5 system like euros, eliminate the quarter and create a 20c piece. I'm on the fence about a 1, 2 and 5 cent coin but it works in Europe; you don't have to carry as many pennies around since you have 2 and 5 cent coins.

 

What works here (in the euro area, currently 15+3 countries) does not necessarily work elsewhere. Also keep in mind that, if you replace several old currencies with one new currency, it is always easier to explain that some things need to change. In the Netherlands, for example, people were not exactly happy about the 0.25, 2.50 and 25.00 coins/notes being replaced by 0.20, 2.00 and 20.00 - but it was not all that difficult to get the message across that with a common currency you cannot have both.

Now if you modify the "cash setup" in just one country, that is more difficult: Why the change, what should that be good for? etc. Such questions are the more important the less relevant cash is. Here in Euroland we have the odd situation that cash can still be used more universally than other means of payment - not within one single country but across member state lines. That is changing (euro transfer, SEPA, etc.) but will take some time. In the US that is different.

By the way, the two smallest coins depicted here are not really used in FI and NL: They usually round cash totals up/down so that 1 and 2 cent pieces (while still being legal tender) are practically not in use.

Christian

 

The non-euro countries that made the change have managed to do it without imploding and I'm sure the US could do it too. Canada, Australia and Russia are the largest countries to eliminate 1 and 2 unit bills and replace them with coins; they seem to be getting along just fine. Saving the cost of printing lower-denomination bills would be a plus for the economy since coins last 10-20 times longer than bills. I concur on rounding and the disuse of the minor coins; this too, is a procedure which should be adopted here.

 

Right on David, I agree. Get rid of the paper and we all have to use the metal. So why not take the big leap? Government never asks our opinion anyway....

 

will this dream come true?. a $2.00 coin with the indianhead on the obverse. a $5.00 coin with president Obama on the observe. $2.00 bi-color multi metals coin. $5.00 with 40% silver on it.

 

Regulations prevent living persons from being depicted on legal tender.

 

I wonder what the cost savings is when you compare how long coinage lasts to how high the shipping costs are?